Tips on How to Design Your Maker Booth

So, you want to be a Maker? Great! You’ve got a terrific project that you want to show off to the world and we’ve got the space for you to do just that! The tricky part is creating a great exhibit for people to enjoy and interact with, here we hope to give you some ideas to help make your booth a memorable experience.

First, it needs to be said that filling out the Call for Makers application is crucial. We need to know that you intend to be there and in order to meet your needs we must know what they are. So, please, fill out the Call for Makers app so that we can accommodate you and your project.

Below are a few videos from a workshop that our friends over at the Seattle Mini Maker Faire put on for their potential Makers. The beginning of the first video deals with introductions but starting around 4:30 they start discussing ideas for creating a booth.

Some of the highlights from the first video are:

Set up your booth at home and invite friends and family to try it out. This way you can work out many of the kinks ahead of time.

You will be provided with a table (if you want or need one) but they will not be covered so plan on a table cloth and or table skirt. The table skirt is great for hiding all the stuff you will be storing under the table.

Part Two of the Seattle Mini Maker Faire Maker Booth Workshop digs deeper into how to make your booth fun and appealing to people.

Some of the highlights from this video are:

Give the public something to do! Whether they’re invited to make something, play with something or watch a fascinating demonstration give them a reason to be there and, even more, to stay there for a while.

Show your process. Share what you’ve learned through mistakes, do-overs, partially finished projects, all of it! You don’t have to just show the final product, people are interested to know what it took to get to where you are now.

What is your tool set? What materials did you or do you use? Show off how you made it and maybe invite them to engage in trying it themselves at home.

Christin says it best about creating a booth that is dynamic and interactive: “…because that’s exactly what we’re advertising, that’s exactly what people will come expecting and what they will do.”